Question to Explore
How can we use recycled materials to design the most powerful pom pom launcher?
Materials
- paper towel roll
- binder clips
- plastic spoons
- rubber bands
- plastic cups
- balloons
- scissors
- pipe cleaners
- index cards
- popsicle sticks
- paper clips
- tape
- pom poms (if you do not have pom poms handy, you can also launch marshmallows)
- ruler, paper, and pencil for recording
Procedure
- Brainstorm what design features would make a powerful launcher
- Things to consider: How do devices that launch things into the air work? Will your launcher be hand hold or sit on the table/floor?
- Draft a model of your launcher
- Select the materials you will use and begin building
- Test your design! Launch multiple pom poms and record how far they all went, keeping your launcher in a stable position.
- Compete: You can also create multiple launchers and have a competition for which one launches the pom pom the farthest.
- You can also aim to hit a target, or knock over a tower, such as this index card tower, to test the aim and power of your launcher.
Here are some sample pom pom launchers:
Photo References:
https://creativeqt.com/blogs/news/family-steam-challenge-pom-pom-catapult
https://frugalfun4boys.com/popsicle-stick-catapult/
https://childhood101.com/create-an-engineering-mystery-bag-challenge-for-kids/